


Unwritten

by childofsquidward



Category: Dil Dosti Dance (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26873284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofsquidward/pseuds/childofsquidward
Summary: Words have always been Taani's downfall and when she hears one too many, she decides enough is enough. So she does the last thing that any of them expected: she leaves.And maybe ends up accidentally being responsible for the disaster that happens in the process.
Relationships: Aashi/Bharat, Neha/Vicky, Rinni/Amar, Simmi/Nilesh, Swayam Shekhawat/Sharon Rai Prakash, Taani Shekhawat/Original Male Character(s), Taani Shekhawat/Reyaansh Singhania
Kudos: 1





	1. Falling

_"What you're making Rey do is disgusting and selfish! You're shattering Rey's career, his aspirations and every single one of his dreams."_

Sharon's words might as well have spat fire on her face with the way they kept ringing in her ears, burning with no intention of being put out.

 _“Pyaar mein log selfish nahi hote, selfless hote hai.”_

Taani chucked a framed photo of her and Sharon from IndiaFest into the ratty old cardboard box sitting on her bed. She swore she heard it shatter the same way her heart did at her bhabhi's words.

_"We thought we were your friends, Taani."_

_Great, freaking Aashi of all people is the one to get Sharon out of my head_ , Taani thought, tossing in the poster that Vicky and Nilesh had made for her birthday.

_“How could you do this to us?”_

In goes her favourite denim jacket, embroidered with every planet and constellation that she loved, courtesy of Simmi and Rinni. 

_“Tum hum sab ke career ke saat khel rahi ho.”_

There went her most prized journal, the one that was most certainly out of their price range, but Aashi, Neha, Bharat and Amar all pitched in to get regardless.

_“Taani, are you really that self-centred that you can’t see how much you hurt me?”_

That was Rey. _Her Rey_. Her boyfriend, her prince charming... the guy she gave everything to, the one who was her whole world.

_“You made me choose between you and my friends. I almost let them down today because of you.”_

She threw that stupid keychain she bought to remind her of Goa with all her might.

_“You made me choose between you and what I love most - dance. Just because you don’t have any dreams and aspirations of your own doesn’t mean that you get to destroy mine. I’m trying to think about my future and you should too.”_

Taani furiously shoved both cards she’d gotten from him - one for Valentine’s Day and one for her birthday - into the box.

_“But you- you just don’t get it, do you? You don’t understand what my passion, what my friends… what all of this means to me. You have never been able to understand me and you never will. Kyunki tumhe toh bas shaadi ki padhi hai. For god’s sake, Taani, forget about these stupid, pathetic dreams of yours and grow the hell up! Because I have... and I don’t want what you want.”_

She tried to crush that stupid mp3 recording of Rey’s stupid voice in her fist.

_“You have been selfish, controlling and shitty towards me, my friends and even your brother.”_

She ripped Rey’s birthday banner from the wall because she just couldn’t bear to have that monstrosity of a lie in her life anymore. _A star huh?_ she thought, watching as the banner took its sweet time falling, every agonizing second that went by making her vision blurrier and blurrier, _Yeah fucking right_.

_“You’re not who I fell in love with.”_

Her hand tightened around the necklace Rey got for her, the one that had replaced her mother’s pearls because it meant that much to her.

Before she could tug it free, a voice called out, “Stop!”

But it wasn’t the annoyingly overbearing voice in her head, no no. This was the voice of the man that she’d never wanted to see again… except he was the one who showed up when she needed literally _anyone_ to hold her and tell her that everything’s going to be okay.

Taani removed her hand from the necklace as her sort-of friend strode over and unclasped it for her.

“Rey’s already responsible for your emotional distress,” he said, a small smile adorning his face, “let’s not add physical distress on his conscience as well.”

Taani let out a bitter chuckle as she looked up at him. 

“Thank you for-”

“Don’t thank me, seriously, this is the least I could do.”

“Don’t tell me not to thank you, seriously,” she bit back mockingly, “you have no idea what this means to me.”

“Now that’s like the Taani Bakshi I know!”

Taani wanted to smile, she really did, but her eyes just had to fall on that atrocious red banner of lies. She let out a tired sigh as she bent down to pick it up, freezing when his hand shoots out and picks it up for her. She watched in shock as he marched over to her bed and dramatically dropped the banner into the box.

“Are you sure that you want me to get rid of all this stuff?” he asked, concern evident in his eyes, concern that if it were anyone else she would think it to be pity.

“I don’t care what you do with it. You can throw it off a bridge, set it on fire… dealer’s choice really. I just don’t want to see any of _this_ ever again.”

He knew exactly what she meant by ‘this’, but chose to keep that little tidbit to himself. 

“Alright then! Is that everything?”

Taani glanced around her now empty room one last time and let out a tired sigh.

“Yeah, that’s everything.”

“Okay, then let’s take this to my car.”

Taani simply nodded as she grabbed ahold of the countless bags and boxes cluttered around her room. 

They drove to her destination in silence because he knew that’s what she needed. She needed to process things in her own way, in her own time, and most importantly, on her own.

She really was her brother’s sister.

His tires came to a screeching halt in front of a modest-looking bungalow with the lights still on.

“This is it, right? I can’t believe your parents lived in Malabar Hill this entire time and yet you still stayed with your brother.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. This is me, so than-”

“Taani, I love you, but if you say thanks one more time I swear on your Krishnaji that I’ll throw you out of this car.”

Taani burst out laughing because she knew that there was no way that he was kidding, and soon so did he because Taani’s laughter is nothing if not contagious as hell.

Once their laughter had finally died down, she asked, “Can you do one last thing for me, please?”

He glanced up to find her pleading eyes boring into his.

“Anything.”

She let out a sigh of relief, pulling out two envelopes from her purse. “These letters are for bhai and Sharon.”

He plucked the letters from her hands and studied them close, gaping at Taani when he saw the one meant for Sharon.

“This is addressed to-”

“I know,” she cut him off, her voice filled with malice and venom.

“Well, what about Rey’s necklace?”

Taani raised an eyebrow at him, her eyes glistening with rage rather than tears. “I put it in the box with the rest of the junk that needs to be thrown away, didn’t I?”

As someone who had been on the receiving end of Taani’s wrath, albeit rightfully so, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of sympathy for Taani’s former friends.

“Okay, whatever you want. Now let’s get your junk from my trunk.”

Taani sent an unimpressed glare his way, biting back the smile threatening to break free. “That was very bad.”

“Oh yeah? Then why are you smiling?”

Taani simply rolled her eyes as they got out of the car. After unloading her luggage and bringing it to the door, she asked, “Do you want to come inside for a bit?”

He had this knowing look on his face that immediately reminded Taani of her brother. It was beyond annoying.

“Maybe some other time. Right now, you should be with your family. Besides, I have quite a few deliveries to make thanks to you.” 

He threw her a quick wink before driving off.

Ringing the doorbell, Taani braced herself for what was about to come.

The door swung open and there stood Naina Bakshi, now wide awake at the sight of Taani standing before her with luggage in tow.

“Taani beta, what’s wrong?”

Taani _broke_ at the sound of her voice, practically throwing herself in the older woman’s arms. 

“Ma-”

Naina was quick to pull her into a comforting hug.

“Sh, it’s okay. Come inside.”

* * *

Elsewhere, the St. Louis basketball court to be specific, Simmi and Vicky couldn't help but roll their eyes at Taani’s theatrics. Sending this guy of all people was unnecessarily dramatic if you asked them, and frankly, they have had it with her nonsense, especially after the shit she tried to pull during the quarterfinals today.

“Tell your friend that we don’t give a shit about her or what she thinks of us.” Simmi laughed to her heart’s content at Vicky’s words.

“Stop it guys!” Aashi yelled, practically on the verge of tears, something that was usually Rinni’s job.

Simmi was about to fire back when her phone buzzes.

“Mom?” she wondered out loud, surprised that her mother would be calling at a time like this. Finally picking up the phone, she said, “Yeah mom, what-”

Simmi froze when she heard what her mother said next. 

Whipping her head in Vicky’s direction, Simmi shouted, “Vicky, I need a ride, right now!”

Vicky was quick to oblige because he knew that there was only one person on the entire planet that could send Simmi on a panicking spiral. Rushing past Taani’s friend, who merely sighed before making his way back to his car, Simmi and Vicky ran as if their lives depended on it.

Rinni was torn between going after them and making sure that Aashi didn’t spontaneously combust, given the way that she was shaking. Slowly placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, Rinni asked, “Aashi, what’s wrong?”

Aashi pulled up the college website on her phone and handed it to Rinni. “This is why I called everyone, including Taani, to come here. I just found this about an hour ago when I went to update the website. Usually, Taani insists on doing this herself and I guess now we know why.”

Rinni couldn’t help but slap her hand over her mouth, tears threatening to spill any minute now. Nilesh was the first to swipe it from her, then Amar and then finally Neha. Guilt clawed its way into each and every one of their hearts when they laid their eyes on the very atrocity that had been slowly eating away at her each day.

Neha was the first to speak up.

“He was right.”

She was met with curious glances at the trembling of her voice.

“That- that _bastard_! He was right.”

They all exchanged worried glances because it’s _Neha_ and she has never been one to curse unless she was ready to commit a freaking homicide.

“Neha, what-”

Neha completely ignored Amar, as though she hadn’t even heard him.

“Other people like Shivam and the jerks behind these comments,” Neha finally turned to face her friends, “they may have been the ones to hurt her, but we _broke_ her.”

“People don’t break, Neha, we- we didn’t break her, it’s not poss-”

“But we did, Nilesh!” She all but screamed in his face, eyes bubbling with fury. “We were supposed to be her _friends_ and we treated her like garbage and now...” Neha took a deep breath before continuing, “and now she’s god knows where and we’ll never get to see her again. We did a bad thing, just accept it.”

Rinni and Amar were quick to envelop Neha in a hug, whereas Nilesh and Aashi exchanged a knowing glance.

“We really fucked up, huh?”

“Yeah, but not as bad as _they_ did.” Aashi gestured to where Sharon, Swayam and Rey were all standing in separate corners of the basketball court.

Sharon looked like her legs would give out any second now. 

“This letter is for Swayam and this one is for you, Sharon,” that stupid jerk’s voice rang in her head.

That letter wasn’t for her. He knew that and she was damn sure that Taani did too. Whereas Swayam’s had his name written in Taani’s impeccable penmanship in all its glittery purple glory, hers was addressed to VP sir. _VP sir_! This letter could’ve easily gone to Aashi, their actual CS, but Taani just had to have the last word somehow.

 _What did you expect_ ? that annoying little voice inside her head nagged, _That she’d call you Sharon bhabhi and leave a heartfelt goodbye letter for you when even her boyfriend didn’t get one? You were never her friend, she knows that and so do you. It’s your fault she’s gone._

Sharon would’ve fallen to the ground right then and there if it wasn’t for Bharat, who was holding onto her for dear life. 

“Let’s get you home, okay?” he said softly. Sharon wanted to cry even harder because she had never heard Bharat’s voice sound so small.

She spared one final glance toward Swayam before she let Bharat walk her over to her car.

Swayam had never felt so angry in his entire life. Not when he got in trouble for Taani breaking his mother’s favourite perfume bottle. Not when he saw Shivam kiss Sharon or touch his baby sister. Not even- not even after just about every conversation that he has ever had with his father. 

This was much worse.

He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He wanted to tear all his hair out. He wanted to hit something so hard that the sound of it breaking would echo in his mind for all eternity.

Except all he could hear was Taani’s voice reciting that damn letter she wrote.

 _‘Bhai_ ,’ she wrote. 

No hi, no hello, just... bhai. 

_‘I’m leaving. By the time you finish reading this and come home, I’ll already be far, far away. I know you’ll probably want to throw something, so please make sure it’s that ugly lamp Mamaji put in the living room and not your phone or our dishes.’_

A bitter chuckle escaped his lips at his sister’s words. 

_‘Once you’ve calmed down, you’ll probably want to come to find me. Don’t. I need to grow up, we all know that much, and I can’t do that with my big brother protecting me like the stupid, pathetic child I am. I know that I’ve always been selfish in asking so much from you, but this is the last time, I promise! Don’t contact me, even after Mamaji eventually lets my location slip. Don’t come to see me and don’t try to talk to me. If I feel ready to get in contact with you, then I’ll do so myself, so please, promise me this one last thing. Sincerely, your shitty baby sister.’_

Swayam did let out that scream, startling just about everyone present.

He hit something too, repeatedly. So much so that Nilesh had to physically restrain so he didn’t end up doing something he’d regret for the rest of his life.

But it was too late.

The damage was done.

* * *

Naina knew better than to ask questions right now. She’d let Taani bring her belongings into the house and showed her up to the room that had been waiting for her for over a year.

She’s brought out of her thoughts when her daughter sauntered in through the front door, drenched in sweat.

“Maa, your favourite child is home!”

“I know, Priya, Yash is working on his dissertation upstairs.”

“Kya yaar mom! It wouldn’t kill you to play along once in a while.” Priya pouted as she flopped down on the living room couch beside her mother.

“No, but it might just kill your brother.”

Priya was about to retort when she suddenly shot up at the sound of a familiar strumming pattern. 

“Maa is Taani-”

“Yes, but she needs to be alone right now.”

Priya frowned, mind racing a mile a minute and fists ready to fly. “Is everything okay?”

“You know your sister better than anyone, Priya. She'll talk when she’s ready. ”

Priya sighed dejectedly, now listening closely to the soft sounds coming from her sister’s room. It took her a second before she smacked herself upside the head. “She’s sad strumming, I should’ve known."

The sad strummer in question was finally starting to feel at ease thanks to her brother’s guitar.

At least until she saw Aashi’s name pop up on her phone. She placed the guitar aside and shoved her phone under her pillow, not ready to face the ever so relentless Aashi Gupta.

A soft knock on the door broke her trance.

“Come in!”

Just as she predicted, there was her big brother Yash, hair tied back in a small ponytail and eyes droopy from whatever it was that he was working on.

“Still haven’t cut that stork’s nest you call hair, huh?”

“After I complete my master’s degree, I promise I’ll shave my head for graduation if it’ll get you to stop nagging me about it. I swear you’re worse than maa.”

“No you won’t, you love your precious hair too much. Also, I’m telling maa you said that.”

Yash sent an all-knowing big brother-y smirk her away as he sat down beside her.

“Taanu, what’s with the sad strumming?”

Taani’s eyes widened in panic. “I didn’t bother you, did I? I swear I didn’t mean to!”

“Whoa, what- NO!” Yash’s own eyes widened in alarm as he quickly threw his arms around Taani. “You’re my sister, _you dork_ , bothering me is like your birthright.”

Normally Taani would’ve laughed at his pathetic attempts at humour, but she didn’t, and Yash was ready to tear the world apart to find out why. He placed his hands on Taani’s shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Taani, what's wrong?"

Taani’s bottom lip curled up and he knew his sister might cry at any given moment, making him want to hug her and never let go.

"You don't want to talk about it?"

Taani shook her head no.

Yash let out a reassuring hum before removing his hands from her shoulders. "Alright, I'll lay off for now, but I can't promise that our nosey drama queen of a sister will do the same."

As if on cue, Priya bounced into Taani’s room like a toddler on sugar high. "Mujhe yaad kiya, aur main hazir!"

Yash and Taani rolled their eyes fondly in unison.

"Taanu, what's that saying? Speak of the demon child and she shall appear."

Priya narrowed her eyes at Yash, climbing over him to sit with her back against the side of Taani’s bay window, even though there were _at least_ three other ways for her to do so without squishing her brother’s head or pulling out his hair. 

"Don't you have a date to get ready for?" she asked, once she’s finally got her legs stretched out and digging into Yash’s thigh as if trying to drill a hole.

Taani's lips quirked into that antagonizing little sister smirk that she and Priya shared - the one that said ‘tell me what I want to know before I know annoy you to death like I’ve been doing since the womb’. 

" _A date_?"

Yash groaned. "Oh, now you've done it Priya!"

"Do we get to meet this date?"

"No, because it is one date. It's not like I'm looking to marry her."

"No, you've just been pining after her for nearly a year now." 

Yash whacked Priya in the face with one of Taani’s pillows.

“That was _sequined_ you fucking heathen! I swear-”

“Abbe dhongi, do second ke liye chup ho jaa, I’m begging you!”

Priya merely huffed at her sister’s retort before smiling with glee as she watched Taani grill Yash like the main course at their Saturday afternoon barbecue.

"Is this the girl you were forced to share an office with? Haven't you guys been friends for over two years now? Wait, no, you became friends way back when during first-year because she worked in the library and you were always there- _hai Krishnaji_ , you hopeless nerd! Why did it take you like six years to finally ask her out, aren’t you two like married at this point? That poor girl, bhai, I swear-”

“Taani, breathe!” Yash exclaimed, because once his sister gets going, there’s really no stopping her.

Priya burst out laughing at her brother’s misery, kyunki jale pe namak toh chidakana hi tha. "Yeah, he finally got the guts to ask her out. They'll be married next year, I swear!"

Yash wished that the ground would swallow him whole right then and there. "Guys, I have zero interest in marriage."

"Arre, you're nearly 25 and still in school! You have to settle down eventually na bhai?"

"God Priya, not you too! Next time maa nags you fucking gremlins about the same shit, I am not coming to your defence."

Priya narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Get out of here before I decide to introduce myself to her as her future nanad."

"I swear I'll call her bhabhi,” Taani added, turning Yash’s head to face her, “I have the practice, trust me."

Taani regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. 

_Bhabhi_ , she thought, as though she’d throw up if she said that word again. _When was the last time I said that?_

“Taani,” Priya’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, “kahan kho gayi?”

“Arre, you know me na Pri? Main toh har jagah kho jaati hoon.”

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that Taani’s smile doesn't quite meet her eyes, but before Priya or Yash could get a word in, Taani continued as though nothing happened.

“By the way, bhai, weren’t you telling me that Ridhi ran track back in high school?”

Yash glared at her as if to say ‘why the fuck would you say that in front of Priya of all people?’ and only became even more distressed when he saw that Taani did not seem the least bit apologetic.

“What?!” Priya screamed at the top of her lungs, smacking Yash on the arm with all her might, causing him to nearly fall over in pain. “Bhai, how dare-”

“I don’t need you challenging my only chance at a real relationship to a race and making her literally run for the hills.”

“Why, were all your other relationships fake?” Taani teased.

“I knew that Shilpa girl was a robot!”

Yash wished now more than ever that he was still an only child. 

“Wow, my life really did go to shit after 1994.”

“Why, what hap-” Priya choked on her words when met with a pillow to the face for the second time that night, this time thanks to Taani.

“The two of you happened,” Yash replied with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Priya’s eyes darkened and Taani, being a million times smarter than Yash as usual, jumped off the bed right before Priya lunged at Yash, pulling him into a headlock.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, AND THEN YOU,” Taani froze right before she got to cross the threshold of her room, “WHY DO YOU PEOPLE ALWAYS GO WITH THE SEQUINED PILLOWS, THEY HURT LIKE A MOTHERF-”

“Priya Bakshi, I would think twice before finishing that sentence.” Naina’s stern voice filled the room, causing Priya and Yash to look up and find Taani waving happily from behind their mother.

Priya let go of her brother in 0.2 seconds, a psychotically angelic smile spreading on her face causing Yash to think, ‘ _wow she’s literally a demon child_ ’.

“Nice try, Priya,” Naina smirked, causing Priya to groan because her mother and brother have the same infuriating smirk apparently.

“Yash,” the man in question shot up at the sound of his mother’s voice being directed towards him, “Ridhi is waiting downstairs for you, which is shocking because I would’ve liked to think that I’ve taught my son to have the decency to go pick up his dates like a gentleman.”

“Don’t blame yourself Naina maa,” said Taani, wrapping her arms around Naina, “chivalry really is dead.”

“Aur vaise bhi, bhai toh single hi marne vale hai,” Priya decided that it would be a splendid idea to add despite the death glares she’d been receiving from Yash.

“Where’s papa when you need him?” Yash muttered under his breath as he walked over to his mother, practically shoving Taani aside as he took her place, completely ignoring the offended gasp she let out.

“Mumma,” Naina snorted at her son’s antics, “please go and tell Ridhi to wait for just two more minutes, main abhi aya, pakka promise! Also, if you can keep those two gremlins away from her then I’ll pick up dinner on the way. Think about it - no cooking, no dishes and bonus, your one and only son, _your oldest child_ , might finally settle down.”

“You make a good point. But just know that I was planning on making all of Taani’s favourites so…”

“Say no more!” Yash turned to Taani and smiled. “Taanu, what do you want me to bring for dinner?”

Before Taani could say anything, Priya cut in, “Dessert is not dinner.”

Naina, Yash and Taani all shot irritated glances her way. 

“Chup re!” Yash scolded. “Saali green juice ki aulad.” 

Naina slightly twisted her son’s ear, causing him to yelp out, “I’m talking about your husband, he did this to her!” Satisfied with his answer, Naina let go of his ear and asked Taani what she wanted for dinner.

“So, you guys know that 24-hour breakfast place that I like-”

“Where you always order a mountain of french toast with extra chocolate syrup?” Yash had that knowing big brother smirk on his face again, except this time it wasn't as annoying. “Yes, I’m aware. We also have a bottle of chocolate syrup in the fridge because you never fail to complain about them putting on too little.”

Taani smiled the biggest smile she had in months. Eyes falling on Priya, she added, “Could you also get-”

“Their mushroom and spinach omelette that Priya loves to the moon and back because if I don’t, your conscience won’t let you digest - _never mind enjoy_ \- your dinner?”

Taani had never been so happy in her entire life about her brother knowing her like the back of his hand.

“Bhai, you are the best!” Taani practically knocked him over as she jumped up to hug him.

“Oof, I know! I’ll also see if they have any waffle fries and hot mustard where Ridhi’s taking me.”

“Best brother on the planet!”

“Hey, ‘best brother on the planet’, how the hell do you expect to bring us dinner when you’re going out for dinner? Honestly, you do the dumbest shi-”

“I’m going to order the food and then text Neil to pick it up for me. The kid worships me so he’s not going to care if he has to bail on his date.”

“Your logic is flawless, okay, get going.”

“Would it kill you two to leave my best-friend alone?” Taani groaned. 

“Yes!” both Priya and Yash exclaimed as Priya practically pushed him out the door.

“Well, I am going to keep Ridhi company, _alone_ ,” Naina made sure to stress that last part while staring pointedly at her daughters.

“You’re no fun maa,” Priya whined, shutting the door once their mom left.

She whipped around with a stony expression on her face, one that Taani had seen on their mother countless times.

Well shit.

“Talk,” Priya grits out, waving Taani’s phone in her face.

“What?”

“Who the hell is Aashi-”

“Is that my phone?” 

“-and why are you ignoring her texts?”

Taani’s eyes swirled into a blizzard of fear and rage. 

“Give me my phone back, right now!”

“No!”

“Priya I swear-” Taani reached out to grab her phone from Priya’s grasp, but as usual her sister was too quick. 

“Taani, maa and Yash might be fine with you bottling your feelings up until you explode, but I’m not, so _talk_.”

“Not until you give me my fucking phone back!”

“Not until you fucking talk!”

Taani took a deep breath and counted backwards from three, just like her mom had taught her when she was little. “Priya, I love you and I know that you’re only doing this because you care, but it’s been kind of a rough few months-”

“ _Months_?!”

Taani wanted to kick herself right then and there.

“I don’t want to talk about this yet, please!”

“Remember the last time you didn’t want to talk about something and we gave you space?”

“This is different,” Taani was quick to retort, softening immediately when she saw the concern-bordering-on-fear in her sister’s eyes, “I promise. When I’m ready to talk, I will. Trust me, I learned my lesson last time."

Before Priya could say anything else, she heard her brother shout, “Haan maa, aya!”

Taani got a dangerous glint in her that instantly caused Priya to groan.

“Ladies and gentlemen, looks like Priya Bakshi has a tough decision to make! Will she continue to badger her sister who will most likely still be here when she gets back, or will she tell Ridhi Patel to run for the hills while she still can? Gosh, what will she do n-”

“I will deal with you later,” Priya hissed, tossing Taani’s phone to her as she bolted out of her room, yelling for Yash to stop running away.

Taani let out a giggle, full-on laughing her ass off once she gets a text from Yash.

 **Yash:** Throwing me under the bus because you didn’t want to talk about your feelings? That’s it, no waffle fries for you!

 **Taani:** Are you texting while driving?

 **Yash:** No

 **Yash:** Ridhi’s the one driving

 **Taani:** Please tell me Priya’s not running after a moving car.

 **Yash:** Do you want me to lie to you?

 **Taani:** Yes

 **Yash:** In that case, I will now ignore you and get back to my date.

Taani rolled her eyes, about to put her phone away when it buzzed with the ringtone she had set for her best-friend Neil.

Taani picked up the call, but before she could even say hello, Neil demanded, “Why the hell is Yash bhaiyya making me bring your favourite comfort food to your parents’ place?”

As if on cue, her phone beeped, only to have her find that insufferable purple devil emoji from her brother. 

Mentally cursing him, Taani said, “It’s just french toast-”

“And waffle fries with hot mustard, a family size bag of white cheddar popcorn, samosa chaat from that place next to my apartment, black forest cake from our favourite bakery and everything I need to make a killer margarita.”

“Okay, but it’s not like-”

“He also expects us all to shut up and watch every single Chronicles of Narnia movie with you.”

Never mind, Taani hates her brother again for knowing her so well.

“Taanu,” the urgency in Neil’s voice was what stopped Taani from plotting her brother’s murder, “is this about Rey? Look, I know he’s like Sonu Sood levels of jacked, but need I remind you that I took archery way back when and I’ve seen Priya lift weights so I-”

“Okay, we will definitely address that last part about you and my sister later, but like I’ve been telling everyone else, I’ll-”

“-talk when you’re ready, _I know_ , it’s like your catchphrase!”

Neil couldn’t help but let out a sigh when Taani doesn’t utter another word.

“I’m coming over.”

“Okay.”

“And I’m staying the night.”

“Fine.”

“Maybe even until you stop pushing everyone away and talk about your feelings like a healthy, functional adult who-”

“I’m hanging up now, you asshole. I love you, but you are not getting a single piece of my cake.”

Taani hung up the phone and turned it off, throwing it into a random box at the back of her closet.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” she muttered to herself, starting to finally unpack her things. As she made her way to one of her many bookshelves - this one standing tall in the corner of her room, right beside her bay window - her eyes fell to a thin lilac notebook sitting atop her desk. The cover had a black cat and the words ‘world domination’ written in all caps, so Taani knew right away that this was Priya’s doing.

Opening up the notebook, she saw Priya’s undecipherable-to-literally-anyone-that-isn’t-Taani handwriting on the first page, the ink from her blue marker smudging ever so slightly.

 _‘Hey Tans_ ,’ it read, and Taani could practically hear her sister saying the words out loud. ‘ _I know we couldn’t be together for your birthday and to anyone else, this might seem like just another notebook, but not to me and more importantly, not to you. This is more of an album of everything that you’ve ever written and later tossed aside. This is everything that we, as in your family plus Neil, have saved up all these years because all of it meant so much to us and we know that it meant a lot to you as well. I know that you’ve been a perfectionist since birth, I mean you were born at the exact date and time that you were due for fuck’s sake, but you need to know that screwing up is not the end of the world. Making mistakes is a part of life and I know that this might seem a little hypocritical coming from me of all people, but I think that you need to hear it as well. Stop being so mean to yourself and just… love yourself instead. Because we do! So in the wise words of Miss Taani Bakshi herself: when the world tries to tell you that you can’t, dropkick it into the fucking sun because you can_. _Signed, stupid meanie Priya_.’

“Oh no,” Taani groaned, turning the page. On the back of the page, she found a poem, if you could even call it that, glued in such a way that Taani couldn’t even imagine trying to tear it off. She was seven and Priya had taken her purple crayon when she knew Taani needed it for the bear in her colouring book. 

_Stupid meanie Priya,_

_taking my purple Crayola._

_I said, “give it back,”_

_and she threw a thumbtack._

_“Bears can’t be purple,” she said,_

_so I put rocks on her bed._

“Seven-year-old me had a lot of nerve calling other people stupid and mean when she was the one who tried to rhyme ‘Priya’ with ‘Crayola’ and put rocks on her best friend’s bed,” Taani remarked.

Glancing over at the next page, Taani immediately recognized the neat, minuscule cursive of Neil’s lead pencil. 

‘ _Of course, Priya wrote in marker_!’ 

Taani rolled her eyes as if to say ‘really, you’re gonna’ start by insulting my sister, find a new hobby, you absolute child’. 

‘ _Okay, you can stop rolling your eyes now Super Klutz, I just wanted to get my daily quota of insulting your sister out of the way. Don’t ever tell her this, but her advice is pretty solid: you’ll never learn if you don’t make a few mistakes along the way._

_One of these days, you will stop being so afraid of fucking up and when that day eventually comes, you best believe that I will never stop saying ‘I told you so’. I know you’re usually right about everything - it’s one of the many things I love and hate about you - but just know that for once, the rest of us are right and when you’re done cursing us like you inevitably will, you’ll realize that maybe being wrong about something isn’t so bad._

_You have no idea how much there is to love about you._

_I was the meanest kid in our class and you still skipped over to me with that infectious Taani Bakshi smile and you’ve been stuck with me ever since… but I’m stuck with you too, so it all evens out. Happy belated birthday, Super Klutz. Signed, forever the destroyer of your enemies, Neil Khanna_.’

“He didn’t!” Taani squealed, excitedly flipping over to the next page where she found that horrible poem that began her friendship with Neil glued to the back. 

_Forever_

_Rockstars_

_Idiots_

_Evil in the most adorable ways_

_Not the worst people to have around for the rest of your life_

_Destroyers of your enemies_

_Super annoying_

Taani nearly choked on her laughter when she saw the little subheading Neil left beneath the poem: ‘ _btw, I said we should just use the word ‘fun’ so that we could plagiarize Spongebob and call it a day, par nahi, you just had to make me write an atrocious acrostic on ‘friends’ instead_ ’.

“Says the guy using assonance,” Taani muttered as she flipped the page. 

The next page she laid her eyes upon was clearly Yash’s doing, given the way his trusty red pen glowed brightly on the paper. 

‘ _Hey, baby sister!_ ’ Taani shook her head at the term as she continued to read on. ‘ _Well, I guess since you just turned 19 you’re not exactly a baby anymore, but I’m still not over that time I saw you cry while watching The Lion King. Now before you curse me until your throat runs dry, let me reiterate that yes, I know that I also cried during The Lion King, but that’s not the point. The point here is that there is no way in hell that Priya and Neil are going to give you better advice than your big brother. Don’t roll your eyes, you know it’s true. Not that I don’t agree with the whole ‘fuck perfection, embrace your failures’ philosophy that they’re preaching, but what’s more important is that you understand that having flaws is not a bad thing! Flaws make you human, as cheesy as it sounds, they’re not going to ruin your life unless you let them. And you tend to let them. Know your flaws, understand them and accept them. That’s all the advice your cheapskate brother has for you._ ’

Taani groaned, knowing what she was about to find next when she flipped the page, extremely upset with her 11-year-old self for being such a freaking brat.

_A teddy bear was all I asked_

_To my big brother, I gave the task_

_He failed miserably, that massive clown_

_My ‘cheapskate brother’ is what he is now_

“Hai Krishnaji, why couldn’t I have been better at rhyming from the get-go? Or just not rhymed at all because it's _not_ my strong suit? My younger self was such a disaster!” Taani exclaimed. Turning to the next page, Taani was surprised to find a little note from her dad.

_Hey, kiddo!_

_I know you must be surprised to find something in here from me, mainly because I’m not the writer you are, but don’t worry, I’ll be keeping this short and sweet. Since I’m not the best with my words, I figured that I’d let your mother take over from here. I found this letter that she wrote for you before you were born. It’s old and you probably won’t be able to read all of it, and you know, it won’t even make that much sense because she wrote it long before she knew you were even going to be a girl. But you are your mother’s daughter, so you’ll love it no matter what._

_I love you,_

_Papa_

Taani didn’t even have to read her mother’s letter for her tears to finally escape. She tried to keep it in as long as she could, she really did. She held back her tears when the gang lashed out at her, she bit back her cries when Rey broke her heart and she even swallowed the screams she so desperately wanted to let out back at her bhai’s place. But her family saying exactly what she needed to hear? That pushed her over the edge. She missed all of this and between the whirlwind that was her time at St. Louis, Taani had completely forgotten what it felt like to be home. Her 19th birthday was the first and hopefully only birthday, if Taani had her way, that Taani spent away from her family. She missed her dad’s eyes filled with love and she missed Naina maa’s comforting hugs. She missed Priya squeals and strum of Yash’s guitar. She even missed Neil’s snarky movie commentary no matter how much she tried to deny it.

Taani flipped the notebook to the last page, where she finds a tiny pocket attached to the inside of the cover. Reaching for her purse, Taani dumped out its contents and amidst the lip gloss and candy, she found the first poem she ever wrote about Rey. For a split second, she wanted to slip it inside the little pocket but chose to keep her mother’s letter in there instead.

And the poem?

She crumpled it up and tossed it out her window.

She swore she could hear the words being recited, echoing through her head as though haunting her for eternity.

She shut her bedroom window with a _clang_ , hoping to forget it all.

* * *

Rey swore he could feel his insides being torn apart as he held Taani’s necklace in his hands.

“She wanted me to throw this out, by the way,” that bastard sneered, “with the rest of the junk in her life. Her words, not mine. But I thought you should have this. You deserve to remember the time you lost the best damn thing that ever happened to you.”

Gently placing the necklace in the front pocket of his bag, Rey then pulled out his phone and played his and Taani’s favourite song.

Pacing around the rehearsal hall as the music began, Rey couldn’t help but reach up to nurse his possibly dislocated jaw.

 _I deserve it_ , he thought, immediately moving along to the music once it picks up, as though it was second nature for him.

It sickened Rey to admit it, but that jackass was right. Taani was the best thing that happened to him in a long time, and he fucked it up like it was the easiest thing to do. He had no one to blame but himself for losing Taani. He couldn't blame his friends, _he would never_. Taani was his girlfriend and he was the one that ruined their relationship - not Sharon or Vicky or Simmi, _him_.

He leaped and flipped around the rehearsal hall, the words to the song fading out of his head and being replaced by a poem that Taani had once written about him.

He smiled bitterly thinking about it. He’d found it in her ‘Rey’s Corner’ that night that he snuck into her room and gotten yelled at by Swayam. He’d teased her relentlessly before putting on his best puppy dog face to convince her to give in and read it to him.

He nearly cried as he remembered the bright smile that had appeared on her face, a smile he hadn’t seen in _months_. 

_“He was my brother’s best friend, a dancer just like him,” her sweet voice rang in his ears as though it belonged. “He moved as though he didn’t have a care in the world.”_

_“I mean, I care about some things, Taani,” he had said jokingly, earning him a rightful smack on the arm._

_“When he jumped, he flew, and my heart would beat so fast I was sure it would too.”_

_Rey let out a playful gasp. “And you say you can’t rhyme!”_

_Taani bit back a smile. “Rey, I swear-”_

_Rey simply placed his chin atop her shoulder in response._

_“When he spun all you could see was a blur, but all I could see was his smile, the smile that I fell in love with.”_

_“You looooove me,” Rey murmured into her neck._

_“Do you want me to finish reading or not?”_

_Rey moaned at the tone of her voice, pulling her even closer to his chest. He couldn’t see it, but he knew Taani well enough to know that she smiled as she shook her head._

_“Falling in love with him was like breathing. With his kind eyes and beautiful heart, how could I not?”_

_She had kissed him on the cheek and he would’ve gone in for a lot more if Swayam hadn’t opened the door at that exact moment._

He punched the rehearsal hall mirror in anger as the beautiful memory began to disappear, now replaced with the ugly reality of what he had done.

“Kind eyes and beautiful heart huh?” he growled, tears brimming in his eyes. “Yeah f*cking right.”

He slid down and sat on the floor with a _thud_ , burying his head down into his arms as his hands continued to bleed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Me? Writing a new fic when I have a million others that haven't been updated in years? I meeeeeean, what did you expect? I'm not exactly known for making good life choices. Also, yes, all of this terrible poetry that was written by Taani is actually just terrible poetry that was written by me - you're welcome. Anywho, Taani has a family, a great family that loves her and will set the world on fire for her. They are obviously my OCs, so in my head, Karan V Grover is Yash, Tejasswi Prakash is Priya, Kunal Jaisingh as Neil and Gautami Kapoor as Naina. If you're curious to see what I imagine Rey's to dance to be like, check out 'Noah "Empire Pt. 2" Solo - The Next Step 6 Extended Dances' on YouTube.
> 
> Translations:
> 
> "Pyaar mein log selfish nahi hote, selfless hote hai." - "People aren't selfish in love, they're selfless."
> 
> "Tum hum sab ke career ke saat khel rahi ho." - "You're playing all of our careers."
> 
> Kyunki tumhe toh bas shaadi ki padhi hai. - Because your only concern is marriage.
> 
> "Kya yaar mom!" - "Come on mom!"
> 
> "Mujhe yaad kiya, aur main hazir!" - "You remembered me, and here I am."
> 
> "Abbe dhongi, do second ke liye chup ho jaa." - "Hey drama queen, shut up for like two seconds."
> 
> Kyunki jale pe namak toh chidakana hi tha. - Because of course she has to sprinkle salt in his wound. (something like that, I'm not perfect, I'm a moron)
> 
> "Kahan kho gayi?" - "Where are you lost?"
> 
> "Main toh har jagah kho jaati hoon." - "I get lost everywhere."
> 
> "Aur vaise bhi, bhai toh single hi marne vale hai." - "And besides, bhai's gonna' die single."
> 
> "Main abhi aya, pakka promise!" - "I'll be right there, I promise!"
> 
> "Chup re! Saali green juice ki aulad." - "Shut up! Bloody child of green juice." (it's funny in Hindi I swear)
> 
> "Haan maa, aya!" - "Yeah mom, coming!"


	2. Fuck This Entire Day

“Simran Sunaina Malhotra, you are 23 years old, learn to wake up without my having to call you at seven in the morning every day,” Rinni Shah scolded her best-friend exasperatedly.

“Since when do I have a middle name?” Simmi grumbled groggily, slowly opening her eyes and immediately closing them once she saw the annoyed look on her friend’s face, cursing whoever invented FaceTime.

“Since you refuse to set an alarm like every other sane person on the planet.”

Simmi didn’t have to look at her phone to know that Rinni was gesticulating wildly, as one does when their best-friend is being utterly impossible. 

“Why would I set an alarm when I have you?”

“You’re the worst, _open your fucking eyes_.”

“You calling me like the human alarm clock you are is only indulging my irresponsibility.”

“At least you can finally acknowledge the fact that you’re the most irresponsible person on the planet.”

Simmi shot up with a start, grabbing onto her phone. If she could strangle Rinni through the screen, she probably would. “Excuse you? It’s like you’re forgetting that Vicky exists.”

“I’m trying to, believe me,” Rinni groaned. “It’s your turn to deal with his newest dilemma.”

Simmi scoffed. “When have you ever dealt with one of Vicky’s dilemmas?”

“Never, I have better things to do and unlike the rest of you, I can actually pass him off to other people. Honestly, I don’t know why _I_ was considered the dumb one given the shit I’ve seen the rest of you do- _Simmi, do not lie back down, get up_!”

Simmi huffed but did as she was told, walking over to her bathroom. “You’re so mean in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah, blame the girl who takes time out of her busy schedule to make sure your sorry ass stays employed- OOO, IS THAT THE NEW FACE WASH YOU’RE USING?!”

Simmi giggled at her best friend’s ability to go from the reincarnation of her mother to a toddler in a candy store.

“It’s amazing, it smells like pine trees and hydrangeas. Apparently, Rohan has a friend whose mother works at Goddess Cosmetics, so she’s the first to get all their new products. Lucky for me, she didn’t like this one.”

“Okay, so are you going to casually mention to Rohan that I like lilies and my birthday’s coming up, or should I?”

Simmi rolled her eyes, albeit fondly. “You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I’m just smart _and don’t talk while you’re brushing your teeth_ , what are you, four?”

“Oh fuck you, I have seen you around bubble wrap.”

“Shut up, Amar thinks it’s cute!”

Wiping her face off with a towel, she hit Rinni with that absolutely infuriating ‘give me a break, who do you think you’re talking to?’ look of hers that she reserved for the especially stupid shit that her friends said. 

“That’s because Amar has been in love with you for over four years.”

Noticing the deer-caught-in-headlights look on Rinni’s face, Simmi let out a sigh, having the sudden urge to down an entire bottle of aspirin along with the world’s largest jug of coffee.

“Rinni, _no_.”

“It happened again.”

“I’m not listening to this.” 

Simmi set her phone on her desk and headed into her walk-in closet, already knowing exactly how this conversation was going to go.

“We were just going over some details for the grand opening since it’s right around the corner - which none of you animals have formally RSVP’d for, by the way - and it was so late at night that we just started laughing and then we…”

Simmi popped out of her closet when Rinni doesn’t continue. 

“You… what?”

“I thought you weren’t listening. And where the hell did you get that outfit, shopping in Kriya Ghai’s closet?”

“Oh, so this _is_ perfect for work!”

Rinni groaned, the scrunched up look on her face indicating that she was five seconds away from gagging. “At least throw something on to cover up whatever _that_ is. Ooo, like that cute blazer I got for your birthday.”

“Fine! Now finish your damn story, I can’t decide on which ring to wear.”

“I am having a _crisis_ -”

“I have multiple pieces of evidence that prove we have been having this exact same conversation every day for the past four years.”

Rinni waited a good minute or two before she continued. 

“So we had a moment.”

“Of course you did. And when was the last time you two talked after your _moment_?”

Simmi asked, wiggling her eyebrows as she pulled her hair back.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Malhotra,” Rinni snapped, blushing furiously.

Simmi practically cackled. “Please, the gutter is the furthest thing from my mind when it comes to the two of you.”

Rinni narrowed her eyes at Simmi, and if looks could really kill, her best-friend would’ve been killed and then resurrected, only to be killed again.

“That hair makes you look like my mother.”

Simmi snorted. “Was that supposed to be a comeback? Babes, your mother was Miss Universe, if anything, I take that as a compliment.”

“You still look like Kriya Ghai if she could actually do her makeup properly,” Rinni grumbled.

Simmi snapped her tube of lipstick shut, glancing at Rinni with what could only be described as pity. 

“Rinni, you’re deflecting.”

“Pot meet kettle,” her best-friend snapped. “It’s not like you and Nilesh-”

“Rinni!”

It was always the same song and dance with them, always calling each other out on their shit, yet never managing to reach a solution.

Rinni sighed, knowing that there was no way that Simmi was going to let this go. “It happened a few days ago, okay? I was gonna try and talk to him yesterday but…”

Immediately noticing the guilt in her best-friend’s voice, Simmi crossed her arms over her chest, absolutely ready to set her straight if she said what Simmi thought she was about to say.

“ _But_?”

“He had a date and I got all mad at him instead.”

“Rinni Priyanka Shah!”

Rinni cringed at the tone she’s met with, especially because she had used that exact same tone with Simmi on multiple occasions. 

“Okay, I don’t have a middle name either.”

“I know, I created one for dramatic effect.”

“And you say that _I’m_ ridiculous?”

“You are!”

“Simmi, I didn’t-” Rinni bit down hard on her lower lip, letting out a calming sigh. “I didn’t want to be mad, okay? But I was and I hated it! It’s just… the second I saw her this absolutely disgusting feeling started creeping up on me. She liked the same pretentious novels that Amar is oh so fond of and made the best chicken tikka I have ever had and…”

“And?”

“She was pretty! More than pretty, she was drop-dead gorgeous like out of some freaking magazine and she dressed like _Vishaka_. She just made it seem so easy to be pretty and cool and perfect for Amar that I couldn’t help but hate her. _I hate her_!”

“Rinni, come on, you are not the jealous bitch type. You don’t even have a right to be, you and Amar are not in a relationship, even though you easily could be.”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Rinni shouted, getting up so aggressively that she knocked her chair over in the process. “I’ve wanted to be with him since the second we met. He was the first guy to treat me like an actual human being instead of some ditz he could carry around as arm candy because that’s all anyone ever thought I was good for... but not him, _never him_.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Look, Sims, what we have right now is good. Being just friends is good. You’ve seen what happens when we date within the friend group.”

“Rinni, you and Amar are not Vicky and Neha or Bharat and Aashi or-”

Rinni immediately snapped her attention back to Simmi when she froze up, completely forgetting that she was in the middle of a crisis to begin with.

“ _Or_...?”

Simmi simply fidgeted with rings scattered upon her dressing table. Oh look, a blue sparkly distraction, a black sparkly distraction, a rainbow atrocity-

“ _Simmi_ ,” Rinni’s voice snapped her out of whatever rabbit hole of distraction she was desperately trying to claw her way into, “you can say their names, they’re not Voldemort.”

“No, that would be me.”

“Sims-”

“Rinni, come on, ple-” Simmi knocked over her mini-coat rack-esque necklace holder in her frantic desire to talk about literally anything else. She crouched down to fix the mess she made, mainly so she didn’t have to see that knowing look on Rinni’s face that always made her feel like bursting into tears. Finally resurfacing, she said, voice barely above a whisper, “Please don’t try and make me feel better or something because you can’t, okay? I can’t even begin to imagine what she might be doing right now, after everything we did.”

Rinni bit her lip, something she always did when she had something to say that she knew Simmi wouldn’t want to hear. But seeing that distressed look on her best friend's face, Rinni couldn’t help but give in. 

“Taani RSVP’d yes for the opening.”

Simmi’s eyes widened in an almost comical manner, as though they would bulge right out of her sockets at any given moment. “She _what_?” 

“Well, you know that she and Amar are still close, always have been, always will be. Besides, Rey isn’t coming, something about having too much work, so-”

“Really? He’s gonna have too much work six months from now? _Rey_?”

Rinni simply rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know why I bothered, honestly. You’d think I’d have learned by now.”

“Well, who else is coming?” Simmi asked, desperate to change the topic because a sad Rinni immediately leads to a sad-but-she’ll-shove-it-down-with-her-rage-which-the-world-really-does-not-need Simmi.

“Even though you assholes all refuse to be gracious and RSVP, Aashi and Neha were the first to say yes. Nilesh is coming too, and he said something about trying to drag Swayam down here, but that’s not gonna happen unless he values his life.”

Simmi couldn't help but let out a snort. Murderous Rinni was truly her favourite Rinni.

“Rinni, he’s one of Amar’s closest friends. It would be like if Amar told me not to come.”

“Yeah, because I’d _totally_ let that happen.”

Simmi scrunched her eyebrows together, as if trying to solve the world’s hardest math problem. “Wait, so Amar’s just okay with this?”

Rinni simply sighed. “ _Look_ , Taani’s already said she’s gonna be there, formally at that because she has manners unlike the rest of you.”

“So? They’re family-”

“ _Bharat_ is coming,” Rinni barked, thinking, _ab batti jali madam ki_ , when she saw the gears turning in Simmi’s head. “And as we all know by now, where there’s Bharat, there’s Sharon, which means that if Swayam Shekhawat so much as _breathes_ near my event, your future husband is dead.”

Simmi groaned, flopping down on a nearby chair dejectedly. “Yaar, thik se boyfriend hi nahi ban paya, aur tujhe husband banane ki padhi hai? Just for that, you have to help me pick a ring; chal bol, blue ya black.”

“Both, duh!” Rinni exclaimed, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Simmi grinned widely, getting up as she puts on the rings. “This is why I love you.”

Rinni let out a mock offended gasp as she watched Simmi walk back into her closet. “Oh, so it’s not because of my sparkling personality?” 

“You wish-” Simmi began to retort, nearly falling over walking out of her closet. “Hai Krishnaji!” 

Rinni raised an eyebrow and Simmi felt her face heating up.

“ _What_? Sometimes it slips out.”

Rinni tilted her head to the side, causing Simmi to blurt out, “She said it all the time!”

Rinni bit back a giggle, squinting her eyes at her best friend. “Did you just grow like half a foot or something?”

“Four inches,” Simmi kicked up a leg so Rinni could ‘ooo’ and ‘aah’ over her strappy heels, “but thank you.”

“Simmi Malhotra running around in stilettos getting coffee for the biggest asswipe on the planet? Never thought I’d see the day.”

Simmi sighed, because Rinni was the 400th person to say that to her _today_ , and it wasn't even 8 AM. “Rinni meri jaan, we’ve been over this; I graduate in a month, and then I am _out_. Besides, the seedier they are, the better connections they have.”

Rinni sent an incredulous look her best-friend’s way. “You can’t be serious- _keys_!”

Simmi sent her a grateful look as she rushed back over to grab her keys, jingling them in front of Rinni before hanging up and heading out the door. 

Once she’s finally in her car, Simmi called Rinni again, switching from video to audio. “Right, what were you saying?”

“Your job sucks because your boss is a fucking asswipe.”

“Someone’s getting creative with her insults.”

“ _Simran_ , I am serious.”

“Once he writes me a solid recommendation letter, I’ll send him to prison myself- don’t give me that look! Rinni, I didn’t choose to work with him, okay? He’s my only option.”

“I know that, Sims, it just breaks my heart to see you working for someone like that.”

“How do you think I feel? Look, it’s my own fault. Instead of going to class, I spent all my time and energy torturing the nicest person I have ever met.”

“For your information, Taani was actually asking how you were doing. She even mentioned something about a job opportunity when I let your current work situation slip.”

Simmi practically whined. “You realize how that makes everything so much worse right? How does she not hate me?”

“I mean, I think she does, she’s just a nice person.” Rinni let out a cackle before she continued, “She _definitely_ hates Vicky though. I swear she crushed a glass with her bare hands when I said his name the other day. It’s a shame, Amar really liked that glass.”

Simmi swore her heart just backflipped its way out of her chest. “Whoa whoa whoa, WAIT, _you_ talk to Taani? As in Amar isn’t used as your main method of communication?”

“Eyes on the road-”

“You can’t even see me!”

“Who even let you have a license?”

“The government, _Rinni_ , since when do you talk to Taani?”

“Well, she’s been coming over to the apartment for about a year now, but it took us a while before we could carry out a conversation without needing Amar as a buffer. It’s hard, not impossible.”

“You weren’t a total bitch to her.”

“I wasn’t exactly her best-friend either.”

“You never made her cry!”

“Simmi-”

“ _What_ have I said about being nice to me when it comes to this?” Simmi sighed at her best friend’s silence. “Rinni, I know how I treated her, okay? I can’t just say sorry and be friends again.”

“Simmi, you can’t-”

“Hold on, I have to pick up that dirtbag’s breakfast. I’ll call you back in a minute, okay?”

Stepping out of her car, Simmi headed inside the coffee shop that’s become like a second home to her in the last year and a half. Smiling brightly when she saw her favourite barista behind the counter, Simmi practically skipped over to the register.

“Hey Neil, can I get-”

“Your dirtbag boss’s order, yes! Oh, and I have your latte.” 

“You are godsent!” Simmi exclaimed in delight, thanking Krishnaji for the creation of one Neil Khanna, the world’s greatest human being. 

Neil practically melted into the counter and Simmi wondered how this place stayed in business. “Tell that to your brother, he keeps using me as his own personal distillery.”

“That being said, you are working at the bar tonight, right?”

The question earned her an utterly unimpressed glare from Neil. “Does everyone in your family have some sort of indestructible, magic liver? Because if so, then you should know that sharing is caring.”

Simmi rolled her eyes because of course Neil is no different than any of her other guy friends. “You sound exactly like my best friend.”

Neil smirked and Simmi immediately groaned. “The one that’s like a brother or the one that you’re madly in love with?”

“Why can’t you and Rohan ever just play video games or something?”

“How old do you think we are? Besides, your love life is so much more interesting.”

“You’re the worst, thank you,” Simmi grabbed her order and began to head out the door. “I hate your guts, see you tonight.”

“Why does everyone end their conversations with me like that?” Neil called out after her.

After leaving her boss’s breakfast on his desk and her own on hers, Simmi made her way over to the photocopier because obviously, her boss wasn’t going to do anything when she could just do it for him. On her way back to the studio, Simmi bumped into someone - since she was too busy complaining to Rinni about her shitty boss to pay attention to her surroundings - and her papers were airborne.

“Fuck!” she shouted, immediately bending down to pick them up.

“I am so sorry, here!”

“It’s fine, it happens-” 

Simmi froze when she saw the person in front of her, ‘nonononononono’ being the only thought racing through her mind like a siren. 

Fuck this entire day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so originally I was going to write a longer chapter, but I just can't bring myself to finish for some reason so I was like, 'I can just split it in half, it's fine' and you know what, it is fine.
> 
> Translations:
> 
> "Yaar, thik se boyfriend hi nahi ban paya, aur tujhe husband banane ki padhi hai?" - "Dude, he couldn't even become my boyfriend, and you're talking about him becoming my husband?"


	3. Fuck This Entire Day: Take Two

“Rise and shine!” Priya exclaimed, whipping Taani’s blinds open with a dramatic _fwoosh_.

“I will strangle you with Ahaana’s guitar strings, _get out_ ,” Taani hissed, burying her face so far into her pillow that Priya was sure she would get sucked into it.

“You have to get up for work-”

“It is _seven_ in the morning, I don’t have to get to work until nine, therefore I repeat, get out!”

“Well since you’re up anyway, you could come with me on a run- OW! The sequined ones hurt, Taani.”

“I know.”

“Bhai, are you seeing this?”

Yash, who just wanted to steal his charger back from his sister, simply walked over to a practically comatose Taani and gave her a hi-5. 

Priya sent a glare their way that would get her favourite child rights for at least two years. “You people are a disgrace, where’s papa?”

“He and maa left _hours ago_ so they don’t have to deal with you two gremlins. Something I highly regret not doing now that I think about it.”

“I’m telling Ridz you called us gremlins again.”

“I’m already texting her,” Taani piped up faintly, still half asleep and yet a good two minutes away from fully waking up, thanks to her ever so gracious siblings.

“Now you get up?”

“I will throw another sequined pillow at your face.”

“You know, if you could throw this well while we were actually in gym class, maybe I would’ve picked you to be on my team.”

“You’re the worst sister on the planet and my hand is only getting closer to the pillow.”

Yash merely stared at Taani in awe. “How are you both awake _and_ asleep?”

“It’s a gift, now _get out_ , I wanna sleep some more.”

“How much sleep do you even need?”

“Not all of us can survive on photosynthesis alone, you houseplant.” 

Yash nearly doubled over in laughter as Taani finally sat up with a stretch and a loud yawn to match. 

“Not even a regular plant Pri, _a houseplant_. Taani, this is why you’re my favourite.”

“Aw, bhai, you’re my favourite too.”

“Abbe hadd hai yaar!” Priya shouted. “Ek toh behen hone ka farz nibhao, aur uparse taane suno.”

“Exactly! Behen hai tu meri, PA system kyun bani phirti hai?”

“I’m gonna kill you both and maa isn’t even here to stop me, so you better pray to Krishnaji that you can somehow outrun me.”

“They can’t,” a voice said from behind Priya, gaining the attention of all three Bakshi siblings, “but I certainly can.”

Priya swore she could hear the sound of a chorus of angels filling the room.

“Ridhi di, dekho na yeh dono kaise mujhe pareshan karte rehte hai!” Priya whined.

Ridhi let out a mock offended gasp, causing Yash and Taani to laugh even harder. “Kyun bechari ko inta tang karte rehte ho tum log? After all, she already has a ginormous headache waiting for her at work.”

Priya groaned as an all-too-familiar glint appeared in the eyes of her siblings, one that she knew said ‘oh how delightful, another way to tease the ever-loving shit out of Priya, as if all the other ways we have aren’t enough’.

Did she say chorus of angels? Because what she actually meant was a hymn of devils since apparently, Priya had no one to trust.

“Et tu, Ridhi Patel?”

Ridhi couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Priya furiously scrunched up her teensy tiny face, as if the same tactics she used on her siblings could ever work with her. Ridhi gently tugged Priya’s nose between her thumb and forefinger, immediately causing a slight smile to appear on her face. Satisfied with her daily dose of ragging on her poor nanad, Ridhi practically floated over to her boyfriend with all the grace and urgency of a Disney princess, her floral green dress twirling perfectly around her legs and everything. 

All Ridhi and Yash had to do was smile at each other all dopey and lovesick to get Taani and Priya to gag as though they had just come into contact with a sewage plant.

“Oh cry me a river!” Yash exclaimed. “It’s not my fault you gremlins are still single.”

“I mean, Taani gets to complain all she wants, but you Priya?” Ridhi added, gaining a confused glance from Priya and deviously knowing one from Taani. 

“Haan, sahi toh keh rahi hai di! Tere paas toh already ek _perfect_ boyfriend hai jo har roz bas tujhe dekhne ke liye hi intezaar karta rehta raha hai.”

“Taani, meri jaan, tujhe kya lagta hai? That I would still be living with you assholes if I had a boyfriend? Yeah right!” 

And that right there earned Priya her second pillow to the face that morning, this time courtesy of her loving big brother. 

Noticing Taani’s hand reaching for a pillow of her own, probably to get in on the action because her siblings are assholes, Priya reluctantly threw her arms up in surrender, now wishing that she had just left them alone in the first place. 

“Okay, okay, FINE, I give! Ab bata bhi do kiski baat kar rahein ho aap log. It’s not like you have anything better to do like, I don’t know, _go to work_.”

“Hai Krishnaji, we were clearly talking about your co-worker, duffer!” Yash sighed exasperatedly, wildly gesticulating to Priya as if to say ‘can you believe her?’ 

Priya looked as though she would throw up at any given moment. “Aye, bhai, don’t insult me like that.”

Taani’s face absolutely mirrored the utterly incredulous look on Yash’s as she pointed out, “You do realize that he’s basically the male version of you, right?”

If it were anyone else, they would 1000% believe that Priya was genuinely hurt rather than just being the most dramatic human being on the planet. 

“Taani, that is the meanest thing that you have ever said to me!”

“What-”

“I’m a delight! _He_ is like that grumpy cat meme come to life... if that cat was a jerk who also hated the concept of joy as a whole.”

“You mean Garfield-”

“Aw man, I just insulted cats! You see what happens when you mention that cretin?!”

“I-” Taani was, for once, at a complete and utter loss for words, comforted only by her big brother gently patting her on the head and telling her to go back to sleep because it was _way_ too early for them to be dealing with Priya’s nonsense.

Turning his attention to his sister, Yash said, “Abbe o, nautanki, don’t you have work in an hour, what the hell are you still doing here? It takes you over forty minutes to drive there _and_ you’re not even ready yet.”

“Babe, she’s just stalling so she doesn’t have to talk to that asshole at work before they open, we already went over this.”

“Come on yaar Ridhi!” Priya groaned, causing Ridhi to simply shrug as if to say ‘not my fault you’re hella predictable’. 

“Priya-” Taani began in that patented Naina Bakshi tone that she had oh so easily mastered, much to her siblings’ dismay, but Priya was having none of it.

“No, do not _Priya_ me! He’s the most unbearable human being I have ever met and I’ve been forced to know Neil my entire life. How can one person be so self-absorbed?” When no one responded, Priya all but shouted, “Guys, I’m genuinely asking!”

“Pri, taking a gym selfie doesn’t make someone self-absorbed.” Ridhi tried to be as gentle as she could, not looking to set off the ticking time bomb known as Priya Bakshi before she had to go to work because honestly, no one outside of the Bakshi family and their close friends should have to deal with that shit.

“Yeah, self-absorbed is bhai talking to his reflection in the mirror every chance he gets.”

Yash let out a gasp of ‘girl why gotta drag me into this’ as he retorted, “You talk to yourself all the time!”

“Yeah, to _myself_ , not my reflection!”

“Wait, whaaat-”

“Yeah, bhai, that’s just weird,” Priya couldn’t help but add.

“Get out.”

“But this is _my_ room, you can’t just-”

“Get out, or Ridhi and I will start making out right here, right now.”

Ridhi couldn’t help but snort at the malice in her boyfriend’s voice, the mischievous twinkle in her eye somehow perfectly fitting with the psychotic smile on Yash’s face as she tugged him closer to her.

Taani shot off her bed like a rocket, rushing out the door as Priya stood frozen, chanting “EW EW EW EW EW,” with no intention of stopping.

Yash and Ridhi shared what they probably thought was a loving glance, but in all honesty seemed downright demonic to Priya, particularly when those jerks started leaning their heads closer together.

“TAANI!!!” 

Taani rushed back to physically drag her sister’s statue away from that horrific scene, nearly falling over in the process.

Once his sisters were out of earshot, Yash and Ridhi burst out laughing, further proving that they are the two halves of the same evil entity.

One of these days, when some poor unsuspecting souls would actually think that it would be a good idea to fall in love with Yash’s gremlins for little sisters, he and Ridhi would get what’s coming to them. 

But that was a loooong ways away.

* * *

“You’re dead to me,” Taani told her best friend, only causing Neil to laugh harder at her misery.

“Yash bhai, this is _easily_ one of your top three best moments!” Neil declared, handing Yash his caramel macchiato and a cherry muffin.

Priya stabbed the wrapper off of the nearest straw that she could get her hands on, which probably belonged to Yash, and used it to poke at Neil’s forehead - clearly an appropriate form of retaliation in Priya’s opinion, given the shit-eating grin that was still on her face despite the unimpressed glare Neil sent her way.

“Oye, Yash bhai ka chamcha, tera koi kaam vaam nahi hai kya? Kabse intezaar kar rahi hoon main apne order ka!”

Neil widened his eyes in a cartoonish manner, his mouth forming the most aggravatingly round ‘o’ that Priya had ever seen, causing her to try to drill the friggin’ straw into Neil’s skull.

“Achcha? Toh ab toh tu aur bhi intezaar kar sakti hai!” He snatched the straw out of Priya’s hand, flicking it into the trashcan, as though daring Priya to lunge at him. 

Ridhi and Taani rolled their eyes at the exchange, treating it as background noise as they finished up some work before they actually had to head to work. Yash, on the other hand, revelled in the chaos, enjoying his ginormous muffin with a side of ‘oh yay, the Priya and Neil show is at it again, free food always tastes better with free entertainment’.

Priya simply huffed at Neil’s antics, choosing to turn her attention towards her sister than murder the _jackass_ in front of her, much to everyone’s surprise. “I know I sound like kind of a broken record, but this can’t possibly be the only café in the city!”

“No, but it is the only one that makes pistachio-white chocolate chip cookies and lets you choose your own toppings for those breakfast bowls that you love so much,” Neil cut in with that obnoxiously triumphant grin of his as he handed Priya her order, completely ignoring how endearing it was to see her eyes light up at the sight of _pineapples_ in her yogurt. 

“Also, this is the only place that’s close to _all_ of our workplaces,” Taani made it a point to add.

“Not mention, unlike _Starbucks_ , we don’t have to buy something to use the washroom or the free wifi.” From the way Yash said Starbucks, you’d think the company ran over his dog or something. 

“I don’t think that she’s listening,” Ridhi said without looking up from her laptop.

Everyone swore that they saw Yash’s eyes turn into actual hearts as he wistfully said, “I love you so much.”

“Okay, please go be disgusting somewhere else, I’m trying to eat here!” Priya whined.

“You remember that I’m your ride today, right?” Yash countered, still staring at Ridhi like she was the only person there.

“You know that I have no problem finishing the rest of this in your car, right?”

Yash snapped out of his Ridhi-induced stupor exactly 0.5 seconds later. “Wait- _my car_ , my incredibly clean car- NO, Priya Bakshi don’t you fucking dare, I’ll kill you!” Yash leapt after Priya in an instant, hoping that he could get to his car before she Priya-fied it, completely ignoring Taani’s pleas of ‘please don’t kill our sister whom you love dearly because of a stupid car’ since it was _his_ stupid car that was at risk.

Taani couldn’t help but let out a tired sigh. “I think I might actually lose a sibling today. I don’t know which one, but I really hope it’s not Priya.”

Ridhi hit the side of Taani’s head with her pen and Neil let out a Disney villain cackle, nearly spilling coffee on himself for the third time that morning.

“Ridhi di, just for that, here’s a brownie on the house!”

“How are you still employed?” Taani wondered out loud.

“Well, according to Vikram, firing me is too much work for him so I can basically do whatever I want.”

“There’s no way in hell that’s true.”

“I’m sorry, are you Vikram?”

“No, but I am your best friend and I was there when you sang the entire title song for Neal ‘n’ Nikki in front of the whole school when we were fourteen, which in case you forgot, included both Neal _and_ Nikki’s parts.”

“I once saw you trip over your own two feet-”

“Old news! I’m a klutz and most people find it endearing.”

“Correction,” Ridhi decided to butt in, “everyone finds it endearing.”

“See! Even Ridhi di agrees.”

“Ridhi di doesn’t count.”

“What-” Taani stopped mid-rant at the sound of her phone ringing. She knew she had to answer the call right away when she saw who was calling, but not before letting Neil know that she wasn’t done with him just yet.

“Hey Garima, did you need-” Taani’s eyes widened beyond belief at what Garima had to say, immediately hanging up as soon as the other woman told her to get her ass to the studio ASAP.

“Fuuuuuck!” Taani wailed, glancing up at Neil as her lower lip began to quiver. 

Before Taani could even try to guilt him into giving her what she needed, Neil happily announced, “Two lattes and a muffin for Taani Bakshi, may she rest in peace!”

“Shut the hell up, you’re the best!” 

“Every time!”

Taani chose to ignore Neil’s theatrics as she quickly grabbed her order from him, trying to heed to Ridhi’s explicit instructions of ‘DO NOT RUN WITH COFFEE IN YOUR HANDS’ to the very best of her abilities… 

So not at all.

* * *

Taani prayed to her Krishnaji harder than she ever had, taking a deep breath as she entered her office. 

“Hey superstar!”

“Taani, I’m really not in the mood for-”

“One maple pecan latte and a chocolate muffin made with love for Ahaana Rai Prakash, the most talented musician in the world, brought to you by the best person you know!”

Ahaana was quick to snatch her coffee and muffin from Taani, eagerly shoving the entire thing in her mouth, yet somehow still managing to clearly say, “I love you, marry me.”

Taani couldn’t help but snort, not at all concerned about any potential choking hazards because it’s _Ahaana_. 

“And have to deal with your legions of fans coming after me with pitchforks for stealing you away? Not a chance.”

Ahaana looked up at the ceiling, as though reflecting on what Taani had just said, shrugging after she finally swallowed her muffin. “I’m too good for you anyway.”

“Please, you wish you could hit this.”

“With a sequined pillow?”

Taani let out a mockingly offended gasp, wiggling her eyebrows as she averred, “And you and Priya keep denying that you’re friends.”

“Because we’re not.”

“Except you are.”

Ahaana stared up at Taani for a whole minute before stating, “You’re fired.

Taani nearly fell over as she laughed at Ahaana’s proclamation, somehow not injuring herself as she sat down at her desk, gleefully spinning around in her chair. “You fire me every five minutes, Ahaana. I wasn’t even intimidated the first time you did and we hated each other back then.”

Ahaana chuckled as she plopped down on the bean bag chair she was so glad she and Taani managed to have Garima write off as a professional purchase.

“If only I’d known back then what I know now… I would not have insisted on hiring you with as much enthusiasm as I did.”

Taani threw a crumpled-up sandwich wrapper at her head in retaliation, partly because Garima is the smartest person in the world and banned sequined pillows within Taani’s first week at work, but mainly because Taani thought her stationery was too pretty to waste on Ahaana.

“Chudail Rai Prakash.”

“Daayan Bakshi.”

Taani got up from her chair and squeezed in beside Ahaana on the beanbag chair instead. Ahaana leaned her head down on Taani’s shoulder as she began to fiddle with her bracelet, something she has come to find comfort in over the past two years thanks to Taani being adamant about wearing her mother’s pearls in whatever way she could.

“Taanu, I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

Taani couldn’t help but wrap her friend in a tight hug at the softness of her voice, placing her own hand over hers. Ahaana Rai Prakash did not do _soft_ and when she did, every single burst of rage that Taani kept buried suddenly decided to come out of hiding. 

“I know Ahaana, but we-”

“-don’t have a choice, I know. I’m so sick of having to work with that devil incarnate while having to pretend as though I don’t think that he’s the most vile creature in all of existence.”

“Hey, if it makes you feel better, I have plans to ‘spill’ piping hot coffee on him! You’ll get to threaten to fire me for a second time today.”

“Yeah, but I won’t mean it so I can’t even enjoy it.”

“Whatever, it’s better for me to get on his bad side instead-” Taani stopped her train of thought right as her thumb grazed an eerily familiar spike that rested on Ahaana’s middle finger.

“Why are you wearing your punching ring?”

Ahaana lifted her head up to smile that sugar-sweet interview-ready smile of hers, her hand quickly shooting away from Taani’s grasp. 

“It’s a kitty cat.”

“There’s a bloodstain on it.”

Ahaana quickly brought her hand closer to inspect the ring. “Oh crap, I thought I got that cleaned!”

Taani rubbed her temples, incredibly confused as to how Garima didn’t lose her shit every five seconds. “How you don’t have a criminal record is beyond me.”

“Punching some douchebag at a club does not _warrant_ a warrant.”

Taani groaned. “You know, it’s shit like this that reminds us all that you and Rohan are actually best friends.”

“Um, excuse you, Rohan is a gigantic dork.”

“ _You_ are a gigantic dork, fuck whatever your rockstar persona says, crazy person who has _a punching ring_.”

“It does more damage than just my fist. Plus, look how cute it is!”

“There is nothing _cute_ about an easily noticeable bloodstain. Also, you clearly need more caffeine if you think I’d let you land up in deep shit by punching that douchebag.”

“Taani, I love that you’re trying to protect me and my career, but you should know that I love you more than both of those things combined, which means if that creep so much as _looks_ at you, I am hitting him over the head with a chair.”

“Hai Krishnaji, you’re worse than bhai!” Taani blurted out in frustration.

“What are you talking about? Yash bhai isn’t-” Ahaana stopped just as Taani’s eyes began to dart around the room, an unspoken ‘ _oh_ ’ hanging in the air. An ‘oh’ that Ahaana knew if she had said aloud would’ve opened the very can of worms that her friend was so desperately trying to keep a lid on. 

Ahaana could tell you a billion different things about Taani. She could tell you why elephants were her favourite animal. She could tell you exactly why Taani, a writing major, hated English back in their school days. She could tell you the name of her favourite book, every single one of her pet peeves and even her favourite lyric. She could even tell you that Taani has a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey hidden away in the depths of her room and it is absolutely her greatest shame, which is why Ahaana would take this to her grave if Taani asked (and yes, she did ask). Ahaana could tell whether she was happy or sad or about to passive-aggressively ruin someone’s life in a bout of rage because she _knew_ Taani. She knew her in ways that even her sister couldn’t. 

But there were things that Ahaana couldn’t tell you about Taani. Ahaana couldn’t tell you why Taani seemed to hate her old college so much because Ahaana’s family has attended St. Louis for generations and it had to be the number one college in the country for a reason. She couldn’t tell you why Taani clammed up when someone mentioned her cousin Swayam because as far as Ahaana could remember, Swayam was her favourite relative and she adored him with all her heart. And she most definitely couldn’t tell you why Taani treated her most recent ex like Voldemort, even though they broke up over two years ago. Maybe it was because Taani knew that if she let his name slip, the guy would end up on the news as part of an open and shut murder case, but Ahaana chose to believe that it was because he was a heartless dick.

Because only a heartless dick would have the audacity to break Taani Bakshi’s heart.

If Ahaana was asked to give up everything she held dear to go back in time and stop Taani from ever getting hurt in the first place, she would do so in a heartbeat, no questions asked. All she wanted was to know what the hell happened to make Taani flinch every time she was reminded of her past, so she could make it all go away.

Ahaana wanted to reach out and pull Taani into a hug right then and there, but it was at that exact moment that her manager Garima barged into Taani’s office.

“Why are you two still here?” she demanded.

Ahaana’s eyes began to widen as she realized what time it was. “Shit! What time were we supposed to be at the studio?”

“ _Now_ , let’s go!”

Ahaana and Taani scurried around the room frantically as they gathered their belongings and followed Garima out the door. 

Taani practically had to sprint to catch up with Ahaana and Garima, obviously because they had weird speed demon powers and not because Taani made a sloth seem like a cheetah. She was so focused on getting to the studio that didn’t even think of slowing down as she rounded a corner, basically running over some poor soul that was just trying to do their job.

Taani cringed as she heard the poor girl shout, “Fuck!” before bending down to pick up the papers that Taani had accidentally scattered all over the floor.

Taani nearly smacked herself upside the head before crouching down to help. “I am so sorry, here!”

“It’s fine, it happens-” 

Taani closed her eyes the second she heard the other girl stop mid-sentence, worried that she had completely screwed up this person’s day. 

“Taani, grow up!” The voice inside her head scolded. “Stop worrying about a total stranger hating you and help them instead, you doofus.” 

Taani opened her eyes, gathering up any and all of the papers she could get her hands on, finally glancing up to return them to their owner.

Taani immediately hated herself for the strangled squeak she let out at the sight of the last person she expected to find before her, already making multiple elaborate plans to leave the continent because _what the actual hell_.

Fuck this entire day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome to another episode of 'Diya's the actual worst and an absolute liar, no one should forgive her for anything ever' and you know what? It's true, I genuinely did want to post this before 2021, but I didn't even really try to and I'm sorry. In case anyone was curious, Ridhi and Ahaana are both OCs of mine and in my head, Dipika Kakar is Ridhi and Sana Saeed is Ahaana.
> 
> Translations:
> 
> “Abbe hadd hai yaar! Ek toh behen hone ka farz nibhao, aur uparse taane suno.” - "Alright, that's it! You try to be a good sister, and all you get is disrespect." (Okay, this is absolutely NOT a literal translation, but that's the gist of it.)
> 
> "Behen hai tu meri, PA system kyun bani phirti hai?” - "You're my sister, why are you trying to be a PA system." (I swear that like most things, this is a lot funnier in Hindi.)
> 
> “Ridhi di, dekho na yeh dono kaise mujhe pareshan karte rehte hai!” - "Ridhi di, look at how these two keep bothering me!" 
> 
> "Kyun bechari ko inta tang karte rehte ho tum log?" - "Why are you two bothering the poor thing?"
> 
> “Haan, sahi toh keh rahi hai di! Tere paas toh already ek perfect boyfriend hai jo har roz bas tujhe dekhne ke liye hi intezaar karta rehta raha hai.” - "Yeah, Ridhi di's right! You already have a perfect boyfriend who's always waiting to see you every day."
> 
> “Taani, meri jaan, tujhe kya lagta hai?" - "Taani, my love, what do you think?" (I swear it makes more sense in Hindi.)
> 
> "Ab bata bhi do kiski baat kar rahein ho aap log." - "Alright, tell me who you guys are talking about." (Again, much better in Hindi.)
> 
> “Abbe o, nautanki." - "Hey, drama queen."
> 
> “Oye, Yash bhai ka chamcha, tera koi kaam vaam nahi hai kya? Kabse intezaar kar rahi hoon main apne order ka!” - "Hey, Yash's bhai's lackey, don't you have work to do? I've been waiting for my order for so long!" (Listen, 'chamcha' is just a much better word than 'lackey'.)
> 
> “Achcha? Toh ab toh tu aur bhi intezaar kar sakti hai!” - "Really? So now you can wait even longer!"


End file.
